Eccho Rights continues to present its renewed line-up of international titles, which includes three new Turkish dramas and two new seasons of British, Nordic and European dramas.
The company had a busy schedule at MIPCOM 2022 and at MIPCancun, which included a screening session attended by almost 100 global buyers from 40 countries. After this, the company expects to sign new sales for the Latino market, with its attendance at ATF 2022.
And it is that this new slate of titles arises after last June, Eccho Rights announced a new business structure after CJ EMN (Korea) sold its part to the German media company Night Train Media, creating a group that it also includes British production company Bossa Nova.
In Istanbul, the distributor received almost 100 international buyers from 40 countries, including leading channels from Western Europe (Spain), CEE (Serbia, Bosnia and Hersegovina, Hungary, Lithuania, Bulgaria), MENA (MBC) and Latin America (US Hispanic , pan-regional players, Argentina, Chile). The delegation viewed twelve projects, including new Turkish dramas and returning seasons, along with British and Nordic short-form, drama and comedy series, as well as Greek and Romanian adaptations.
‘From the hit dramas Ezel (2011), to Golden Boy (#1 on Star TV Friday nights), Honor S3 (2017, Nordics – best seller of all times), Chrysalis S3 (GMO for Kanal D) and new London project Desperate Measures, we have evolved into new genres and, most importantly, new business models,’ commented Fredrik af Malmborg, Managing Partner.
But there’s more: Eccho Rights released a significant volume of new projects, some scheduled for release in late 2022 and others in development for the next few years. ‘The business has changed and we are adapting to the new trends and needs of our clients. We are happy not only to sell our top-rated ready-to-use series, but also to promote co-productions and finance new projects in different territories’, continued af Malmborg.
The exec highlighted Servant of the People, the comedy series starring the current Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky, which was Netflix‘s first acquisition in the CIS and obtained 40 licenses when the war began in February 2022. In addition, the format has been sold to Poland, and another 3-4 more are coming, added the executive.
Scripted formats are a key part of the new business models implemented by Eccho Rights: ‘We have sold Ezel (Vlad) and Insider (The Clan) for Romania, My Sweet Lie for Slovaka, The clinic and The red room in Greece (Sky), and Nurses in Sweden, France, Slovakia, Czech Republic. Direct-to-consumer is another important approach, offering optimization for YouTube, Facebook and Dailymotion platforms: the Promise reached 3.7 million views, followed by Elif (3.2 million), Legacy (2 million) and K-Drama (1.2 million).
The four new Turkish dramas featured were Hear Me (95x’45) by Surec Films for Star TV, which has been a hit on social media for the target audience; Golden Boy (125×45), by OGM Pictures for Star TV, which has been the best series of the year in Turkey, going from 3.7 rating points to 8.60 and from a 10.24% share to 23, 23% (Star TV‘s average share is 9.08%).
Handan Ozkubat, head of the Istanbul office of Eccho Rights, added: ‘We see that there is a strong evolution in Turkish drama since the pandemic: more humanist, less revenge. International drama adaptations? Yes, definitely. The key is in the location. The masculine character is changed (men are more of a gentleman), but in Turkey, the gender roles are clear and if that changes, the audience doesn’t like it’.
